Category Archives: Hebrew Language Studies

Without the Torah… 28th Day of Elul

A closer look at the Greek word ‘anomos’ in the New Testament.

‘a’ prefacing a word in Greek = without, amoral, anarchy

‘nomos’ (G3551) = actually refers to the original Hebrew word ‘torah’ (traditionally translated as ‘law’ from the Greek word ‘nomos’ into the English language. nomos = Torah, to adapt and operate in the principles of GOD, His “Laws”, His set of moral values as outlined in His Word.

anomos (G459) is more properly understood and expressed from the Hebrew perspective as ‘without Torah, rebellious; by implication ‘Godless men‘; also known as Gentile; one who refuses GOD’s teachings and instructions (TORAH), crossing and trespassing boundaries of GOD.

To be without Torah (without the Word of GOD) is to be or become Godless.

To operate in such a way as to be without Torah = is to behave in a lawless manner, act unlawfully, to transgress boundaries, Godless behavior wickedness, or to act wickedly.

Anomos appears 10x in the New Testament. Let’s look at the first 3 so that we can see the pattern, (How GOD uses the Word ‘anomos’ in scripture). This is the pattern of usage that matters more than our English translations.

Remember: Our English translations apply nine or more words or phrases throughout the many versions of the New Testament in translating the word ‘anomos.’ But, they all lead back to the same Greek word.

Let’s look at the first 3 appearances of ‘anomos‘ in the New Testament.

Mark 15:28 (KJV)

And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors.

Luke 22:37 (KJV)

“For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end.”

Acts 2:23 (KJV)

Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands (Godless men) have crucified and slain:

I can’t help it… let’s look at the 4th appearance of anomos.

1 Corinthians 9:21 (KJV)

To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.

You can’t help but notice the number of times the Word emphasizes the problem... anomos = them that are without the TORAH.

1 Corinthians 9:21 is showing us something else. Let’s look again…

1 Corinthians 9:21 (KJV)

To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.

Under the Torah (law) = enomos (G1772)

*From en and nomos; (subjectively) legal, or (objectively) subject to — lawful, under law.

Those that are under the Torah (law) have made GOD their King. They have freely taken upon themselves His yoke of Sovereignty = submitted to the Word of GOD; the Voice of GOD.

The Christ, The Anointed One of Israel, (His title, as translated and expressed from the Greek Language) which in Hebrew is expressed as The Messiach, The Anointed One of Israel.

In either language, Hebrew or Greek, we are addressing Him as the Anointed One. He is the Anointing!

Why is any of this important right now?

Because in 2 days time, we will be in Rosh HaShana 2025. (Beginning sundown, the evening of September 22), and we need to know the times and the seasons of the LORD. So that we are not just walking around aimlessly, or oblivious to what is happening around us.

We, EVERYONE, is on the Calendar of GOD whether they accept it or not, they are. You don’t have to accept truth, in order for something to be true. Oxygen exist, whether you ever see it or not.

Some will submit themselves to the authority of Christ and some will not. In 1 Corinthians, He is telling us that He is still seeking to save the lost. Amen. GOD has not given up on us! He is still working in pursuit of saving as many souls as will come to Him.

Halleluyah!

However, as you know, scripture has so many layers and I want to show you something else in these passages – contained within the word anomos.

Let’s look again…

When GOD created the world everything that was created had boundaries and limitations; a purpose and a position in the earth- for the good of all. The sun would rule by day and the moon by night, the water would not cover the earth; this far and no further, the seed would produce after its own kind, etc, etc, (Genesis 1).

But the transgressors cross boundaries… Read these passages again with that understanding in mind.

Mark 15:28 (KJV)

And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors.

Christ was numbered among those that trespass others rights, properties, boundaries, as if He were like those that trespass against both GOD and man.

Luke 22:37 (KJV)

“For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end.”

Christ was numbered among those that disrespect and dishonor another’s name, reputation, legacy, rights…

Acts 2:23 (KJV)

Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands (Godless men) have crucified and slain:

Christ was slain by the actual transgressors, those who operated with contempt and total disrespect for truth; crossed boundaries; those who appeared to carry the Word of GOD within them, but did not.

They had a form of godliness (2 Tim 3:5) but refused the Power of GOD within them. The Greek word ar-neh’-om-ahee (G720) translated into English as ‘denying’ is telling us that they rejected the Power of GOD.

ar-neh’-om-ahee means to disavow, denounce or renounce the Power of GOD. All of the above!

The transgressors don’t accept the authority of GOD, they rebel against His authority. GOD’s Word presents boundaries and limitation, restrictions that they reject. They want to operate in their own authority and power. Abnegation is their power. With that, you can feed your own lusts, your own desires, your own thoughts, ways, ideals, and mindset. The ‘Godless men‘ that came for Christ, did so because they wanted to silence a voice they could not control or manipulate.

Some transgressors orchestrate events, some transgressors throw the stones, some transgressors hold the coats, and some transgressors passively aggressively pretend they did not see, or hear or understand, or recognize anything or anyone involved.

Christ made Himself of no reputation to cover it all… if anyone could find the ability to humble themselves, return, repent and recover their relationship with Him.

There is still time. We just need the Word. We just need a Word from the LORD.

1 Corinthians 9:21 (KJV)

To them that are without the Word, as without Torah, (being not without The Word to God, but under the Word (submitted to the WORD and unto Him,) that HE might gain them that are without His Word, His Presence, and His Covering.

There is still time!

Surrender All to GOD

Amen.

ELUL, I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine..

Just for a moment, let’s take a closer look at the Hebrew Word, ELUL.

Below is an excerpt from Biblehub.com; the Interlinear translation of Psalms 6:3.


In Song of Solomon 6:3, we have the beautiful verse, ah’knee luh-doe’dee vuh’doe’dee lee

meaning: I am of My Beloved and My Beloved is Mine

This Month on the Biblical Calendar is called ELUL…

ELUL, is written with four Hebrew Letters, aleph (A) – lamed (L)- vav (U)- lamed (L) (The Aleph carries an E sound). Ref: see the snapshot of Song 6:3 above, the first letter starting form the right is the Hebrew letter aleph).

Much like using an Internet acronym or text abbreviation, ELUL is a type of Hebrew acronym for the words: Ah’nee Luh-doe’dee Vuh’doe’dee Lee

The 1st letters in each Hebrew word in that phrase spell the name of the Biblical Month we are in right now… The Month of Elul

This offers us a beautiful picture with prophetic symbolism. In this we can see the connection to GOD in prayer that resides in this Month, devoting time in prayer and study, to the lover of our soul. An personal time of relationship and fellowship with GOD.

ELUL is the month on the Biblical Calendar dedicated to the search we conduct within our own soul to cleanse out all the clutter and evaluate our own actions so that we can come before GOD in earnest and rededicate ourselves to Him.

So, every time you hear yourself pronounce the word, ELUL (which I have plastered all over this BLOG, you are engaging in sweet prophetic shorthand saying, “I am my beloveds and my beloved is mine!

That’s an AMEN.

TalkTorahToMe.CAFE. –Our Speech Can Be A Lethal Weapon or A Means to Salvation.

During the Month of Elul, Stay The Course!

LEV 19:16-18

16 Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour; I am the Lord.

17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.

18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.

loshon hará ~ evil speech

…is language that does harm to another. Loshon hara is a profane use of the tongue, language that does harm to other nations and people. Loshon Hara is speech – a wicked and perverse form of lspeech that harms our own futures and threatens our destiny- neutralizing and undermining our power in prayer.

We are very familiar with lotion hara, even though we may have never heard it called by that name. We’ve seen the devastation it causes to another person’s spirit. It’s very familiar.

During this Month of Elul, (August 20 – September 17)

…We are going to keep our eye on our tongues…standing the watch over our own speech. No form of evil speech will escape our tongue. No gossip, no murmuring, so chiding or complaining, no slandering, no rebukes, no grudges, no insults, no toxic or poisonous language of any kind.

We will not allow our personal Panina’s to provoke us while we are on our spiritual journey to the Temple of GOD (1 Samuel). During the Month of Elul, we are on a mission!

We are doing this for a few reasons:

  • We are determined to elevate spiritually to a new level.
  • Our speech can elevate us or block us in regards to our ability to obtain that higher level.
  • Our words have power, (It’s time to really believe that). and that power can only be released through holy speech.
  • Our speech is the foundation of all of our prayers and…
  • Your prayers are essential. People need your prayers. Your neighbor needs your prayer, right now. Your prayers can mend the World.

Man was Created a Speaking Spirit...

We discussed this last year in setting the stage for our classes. (Highlights of that teaching can be found in MAN IS A SPEAKING SPIRIT )

Gen 2.7 “And the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and He breathed into his nostrils the soul of life, and man became a living soul.

You will recall, the portion of the verse that reads “man became a living soul” actually reads, man became a speaking spirit.

It is right in this moment that the speech of mankind became Holy.

Your speech is meant to be Holy, to Glorify GOD, to Bless and not curse, to edify and encourage, to tear down (strongholds) and to build up (each other), and so much more good than we can ever imagine!

Our words (and prayers) have no limitations in the spirit. We’ve seen what our words can do in the natural. How much more could they accomplish when we consecrate our words and prayers to GOD?

What makes language holy is that it was given by GOD only to mankind. If we take something as pure and Holy as Language, our gift from GOD, and use it in a profane manner; to hurt, condemn, criticize, offend, destroy, etc. then we corrupt GOD’s language and disrespect GOD.

Gen 2:15 “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.”

“to dress it and to keep it” from the Hebrew Language is “to avad, to serve and to keep watch, guard/protect. Ref: Adam was not in Agriculture…

Our ears (as Christians) are atuned to hearing, “to dress it and keep it” for so long that we might miss the charge of what GOD really assigned Adam to do.

No where else in scripture is there support for an understanding that Adam was a horticulturist, agriculturalist, etc.

When I speak of this to some students, they feel like the word of GOD is being rewritten before their eyes and it’s very hard to process.

Was Adam a Worshipper or a Farmer?

Was his responsibility to guard and protect the anointing, to praise and worship, to draw closer to GOD? Or to grow plants and vegetables?

What we do find support for in scripture is that Adam was a worshipper, his service was to GOD. That his job was to guard and protect the anointing, that he was to protect GOD’s creation, all of it. (Disobedience affected his ability to carry our his assignment too).

Adam had work to do, certainly. But it was a spiritual kind of work in service to GOD, Avodah. Avodah has been interpreted in scripture as physical work. What I want to focus on instead, is our first work. Before caring for fields and gardens. Before building and creating and inventing.

We have the assignment to build and create with our words.

Getting our speech back in right alignment to GOD, is going to make all the difference in the level of effectiveness and fervency of our prayers.

How far we can go walking in the anointing will all begin and depend with our speech.

Mankind is a speaking spirit. Our words have spiritual impact. GOD created the world through the spoken word. Our speech can build up or tear down this creation.

Speak life and live.

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Introducing… TalkTorahToMe.Cafe

A Special New Series I am introducing for my students containing brief insights regarding scripture passages that cross our paths during individual study times that can be shared and may be beneficial with all students.

SOME THINGS ARE JUST TRUE!

I especially like this example found in Psalms 110:4 which does quite a few things:

  • It demonstrates that passages we have read for years in the customary translations say much more than what we first thought they said… or much more than we were first taught.
  • There are so many gems to be found beneath the pages of scripture that a literal (p’shat) reading of the text will never reveal.
  • The depth of historical information that is often glossed over a fable, myth or impossibility..are actual fact with sign and manifestations that exist in the world today, we just aren’t aware of them.
  • The tendency some might have to relegate what seems impossible on the surface to our special internal compartments of faith (“I believe GOD anyway!”) is nice and sweet and beautiful… but completely unwarranted. GOD has just been Completely Amazing for a very long time! So much so that Faith isn’t even required, it’s just true!

Why do we need to know these particular facts about Melchizedek?

#1. Oftentimes we can present new information to our study groups that some students will invariably want to dispute or have multiple question with, for instance discovering that ancient commentaries reveal to us that Shem was born circumcised. “How do we know?”, “Where does it say that in the Bible?”, What does it mean?”, “Why does it matter?”

The 1st two questions I’ll answer right now. There are many facts in the scripture that are not spoken of multiple times, or proved int he sense that we may want proof. They don’t have to be.

There is no reason to dispute information such as “Shem was born circumcised” simply because we only have to look at what occurs in the world today. Our evidence is in today.

Mechizedek was born spiritually advanced, embracing the priesthood of GOD. Some say he misspoke and caused his priesthood to pass to Abraham because he was not careful with his words. That’s one possibility.

More intriguing to me, is that the verse doesn’t even say, “after the order of, or after th manner of” that’s poetic spin.

The verse actually reads, “Upon/after the Word of My Righteous King, a.k.a Melchizedek”

Whether the Angel of the LORD came and spoke these words (prophecied) unto Abraham on behalf of Our Righteous King, or YHVH (Adonai) came and prophecied these words by way of Melchizedek to Abraham…

The Priest of GOD passed his mantle to Abraham by prophetic utterance and Abraham caught it! Words ordained by GOD for you to speak, move faster than the speed of thought! This was not a ninety year old man talking to another ninety year old man. 400+ years in the LORD, Melchizedek was not a novice given to mishaps in prophetic utterance.

A 90 year old man in the LORD is not a novice, let alone a Man of GOD 400+ years in the LORD, in a time when the Glory of GOD was closer in the earth than today.

Besides, have you even known a healthy 90 year old man not to say what he means? Is that even possible?

Abraham was well qualified for the Priesthood, out of all those in his bloodline. (Genesis 11) and Melchizedek was sharp as a tact! He lived long enough to see Abraham & Isaac through their lifetimes, and to know Isaac’s sons.

Who has GOD sent to cover your lifespan with His Word? To call those things that be not in your life? To cover you while you travel the path of destiny? May they proclaim you to be the seed of Abraham, by the Word of My Righteous King!

Amen.